Texans safety Danieal Manning breaks his leg

Texans free safety Danieal Manning (38) is taken to a cart after breaking his left leg during the second quarter of Sunday's game against Tennessee. (Brett Coomer/Chronicle )

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Free safety Danieal Manning suffered what appears to be a fractured bone in his lower left leg that could sideline him for as long as eight to 10 weeks.

Manning was injured while making a leaping interception off Matt Hasselbeck in the Texans’ 41-7 victory over the Tennessee Titans.

“My gut feeling is that I’ll be back,” said Manning, who was on crutches. “There’s a crack in it. They tell me I have a few options.”

Manning will have an MRI on Monday. He said he was told in a best-case scenario he could return in four weeks, but it could be as long as eight to 10 weeks.

The Texans led 3-0 early in the second quarter when Manning’s interception at his 13 jump-started their first touchdown drive and a 10-0 lead.

“I was focused on the ball, so I don’t really know what happened,” Manning said. “I didn’t feel any pain until I tried to get up, and I thought, ‘Oh, man.'”

Manning left the Chicago Bears as a free agent and signed with the Texans for $9 million guaranteed. He was replaced in the lineup by Troy Nolan.

The Texans don’t want to put Manning on injured reserve unless they have to.

“There’s still a chance he can be back this year,” coach Gary Kubiak said. “We’re evaluating it right now. We’re going to have to make some decisions in the next day or so. It’ll be assessed over the next 24 hours.”